A Tauren's Tale of Capture
by Saeuruk
Summary: My first story. A Tauren with a painful past is captured while patrolling near his childhood home in the Barrens. How will the story unfold? ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so here I am taking the plunge. My first publication and my first WoW fanfic. I do not own WoW obviously. The Character names are my own, at least on the Nesingwary Realm. I hope you enjoy, please R&R.

Saeuruk Bladerunner, a fine example of a male tauren at 8'6" with black hair and 'gore fest' horns of the deepest black, lay underneath of the scarce trees in the barrens, watching the stars before laying down to sleep. His kodo had been left behind at the crossroads, his mission as a scout for the Horde required stealth, and it wasn't easy to miss a giant black tauren, let alone a giant tauren on the back of an even more giant kodo. His thoughts wandered back and wondered how his friend was liking the rest and sun, he only had a few hours before the sun was down and he'd have to start off again to scout the alliance activity in the borderlands of Ashenvale. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted into a light sleep, his size preventing any of the local prowlers and hyenas from trying to make him a midday snack.

As Saeuruk slumbered, he had a series of fitful dreams. He saw the death of his family before his eyes, his mother and father being slaughtered by the alliance, his older sister throwing herself on top of him as spells rained down upon their home in the barrens, shielding him with her body. Their house burning down around them, his sister's blood matting her hair as well as his. When they were finally found by a patrol of orcs, they almost passed him over as dead, until he weakly managed to groan, losing his voice from the smoke and blood forced into his lungs. They had taken him from his family's kodo farm to Crossroads for healing. He didn't remember much about the next few weeks, but he did remember one thing, asking Thork why, his family had been far removed from the war between the Horde and the Alliance, they were simply farmers, raising kodo to sell to other farmers. Thork's answer burned in his ears to this day, "Because you are different than them, they feel that you are less than them, that you shouldn't be anything better than a slave. There is no way to remove yourself from the conflict short of death."

Saeuruk woke with a start, he hadn't been asleep long, but the dream followed him into consciousness, remembering his next words to Thork and said them slowly under his breath, "If I can't remove myself from this conflict, then I will throw myself into it, I will do what I must and what I can to prevent others from sharing my fate." The words meaning as much to him now as they had then; he had started training as a warrior as soon as he arrived at his sole living relatives camp, his mother's aging father, whom he was named after, Saeurak Earthwhisperer. His grandfather was a respected member of the Cenarion Circle, but no matter how much he tried, Saeuruk couldn't speak with the Earth Mother. He could feel her presence, but he couldn't focus enough to speak with her. His grandfather had told him he would not be able to train as a druid, there was simply too much rage in him. The path that seemed to be before him was the path of the warrior, and he began to train under Harutt Thunderhorn. His life hadn't been easy, but he threw himself at his training with a fervor that Harutt had only seen in those warriors that went on to become Honor Guards for Cairne himself. Saeuruk had no wish to be a body guard, he preferred to help the common people, he would gladly lay his life down for the chieftain, but he couldn't keep his vow as a guard. No, he wanted to be where the Alliance was currently a threat to his own people. As he closed his eyes to return to sleep, he heard Thork's words in his head upon his return to Crossroads, "Welcome back young tauren, let's see if we can channel that rage into a useful shape." Saeuruk had served with honor, never questioning orders. He served with orcs and trolls usually, but more and more often the Blood Elves and Forsaken were joining in the fight. He had slain many alliance raiders and centaur, his swords ran red with their blood, taken part in campaigns against the Grimtotem in Stonetallon mountains, those traitors that would end the lives of innocents for not supporting their cause, and he had even rallied to the call of the Warsong Outriders. He was a soldier. He gave quarter when asked, but he never asked for quarter, he would rather die by the sword than be imprisoned and made into a slave, fortunately he hadn't yet experienced either. He knew people that had died, some of his friends had died in the line of duty, but they gave their lives for the freedom of their shared people. He would do the same when his time came, but he didn't plan on dying for a VERY long time.

Saeuruk slept through the rest of the day. It was easier for him to move unnoticed at night so that was when he carried out his mission. Just as the sun was beginning to set, Saeuruk's eye's snapped open, something wasn't right, his belt felt lighter than normal now. He felt around, his hands supplementing his vision, knowing what was wrong but he couldn't believe it. His swords were missing! Just as he was about to jump up and look around, he felt one of the blades rest on his neck.

"Stay where you are tauren. Or I shall split your hide."


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry this chapter took awhile to post, had multiple recent issues in my guild that needed to be addressed, if you've ever been a GM you know what I mean. I'll go into more detail on his past in the next chapter. More obligatory junk. I don't own WoW, and am not officially affiliated with Blizzard any more than any other WoW player. Characters are all mine, but that's it.

Saeuruk swallowed, he was ready to die, but he wanted to at least go out in a fair fight, not killed by his own blades. He slowly raised his hands to be even with his shoulders, "Alright, you have me. If your just going to kill me get it over with, I wont tell you anything." He closed his eyes, knowing that even with that admission, he was still likely to be taken prisoner. The voice behind him said, "Stand up, I'm going to take you back to Teldrassil." The voice had a distinctly female ring and an accent that he wasn't used to hearing in orcish. A pair of slight hands that belied their strength bound his arms behind his back. He silently dared his captor to try and lead him with a rope through his nose ring, he had used his horns to defend himself before and he would again if he had to. His captor slowly walked around him with another length of rope, and tied it around his neck. Saeuruk's blood boiled when he saw that his captor was a night elf. He had met a few night elves when he was being tested to be a druid by his grandfather, and he had a similar opinion of all of them, they were arrogant and blinded by their arrogance, they believed they were the most in tune with the Earth Mother. He stood only a few inches taller than her, but what caught his eye was the grace she moved with in her plate armor, a fellow warrior.

Saeuruk took one look around and saw a giant Nightsaber crouched nearby, with riding harness and reins, the Night Elf's mount most likely, it's fangs bared in a snarl. The Night Elf strode over and tied his massive swords to its saddle, even though they weren't in his possession, he was glad to see that she couldn't life both of them at once. She took the rope that was tied around Saeuruk's neck and fastened it to the riding harness as well, before climbing onto its back and starting off into the night. The pace was a brisk one for Saeuruk, but it was maintainable, he had run faster before, but the distance was daunting. Teldrassil, the world tree of the Night Elves, was a very long journey, passing through Ashenvale and then Darkshore before taking a boat ride. He might be rescued by a Horde patrol in Ashenvale, but chances were that the Night Elf would avoid the roads, at least until they arrived in the elven town of Astranaar. After Astranaar he would likely be handed off to the sentinels, and that could be disastrous for him. He had crossed blades with them on several occasions in Warsong Gulch. If one had been a witness to his slaughter of other Sentinels, they might well run him through on the spot. He snapped back to the here and now as he stumbled on a rock, he didn't trip but it was obvious he wasn't paying attention.

He looked around and realized that the moon was fully up now; the scenery was different too, there were sparse trees visible against the sky in the distance, they were nearing Ashenvale. His hopes of rescue were slowly fading, the closer they got to Astranaar, the less chance he had. He caught the sound of snarling faintly on the wind, not the snarling of the local hyenas... it sounded more like the snarling of the giant wolves that the orcs rode. Saeuruk's heart soared, all he had to do was let out a bellow and the orcs would rescue him. Just as he was drawing in his breath, the Night Elf swung her sword and smashed the flat of the blade into his face, Saeuruk stumbled as the unexpected blow came and this time he did fall. The nightsaber stopped at the elf's command as she dropped from its back. She slowly strode over to Saeuruk's prone form, and bent low over him. "I wouldn't try calling for help Tauren, those orcs will be dead before sunrise if you do." With that she grabbed the rope around his neck and pulled, she wasn't strong enough to pull him to his feet but she was strong enough to restrict his breathing. He slowly stood, taking his time in an act of defiance, he may be her prisoner but she was not going to order him around like some animal.

As soon as he was on his feet, the elf was back on her nightsaber and starting off at an even faster pace, one that was more of a challenge, and would be impossible to maintain all the way to Astranaar. The elf appeared nervous, though Ashenvale was within sight, and she would have some measure of comfort there, she wasn't out of the Barrens yet. They covered the distance over the course of the night, and as the sun was rising, she veered off the trail and into the underbrush, at a slower more deliberate pace. After half an hour of walking through the densest sections of under brush, she kneeeled down and opened a door to a tunnel, and led both her nightsaber and Saeuruk inside before closing the hatch. There were lights all about, and elves as well. They were apparently in a way station, and as he entered the atmosphere grew colder. He was the target of everyone's gaze as his captor pushed him from the front of the room down a corridor and into a small cell with one other occupant. As soon as the Night Elf locked him back into the cell, he could hear a barrage of questions in Darnassian.

Saeuruk settled down in the free corner of the cell when his cell-mate spoke to him in fluent Taur-ahe, "I'm Black Wolf-eye, were you too captured by the Sentinels?"


	3. Chapter 3

I'm back with Chapter 3! I'm hoping to be able to post at least once every two weeks, but life rarely goes the way anyone wants it. WARNING: Don't get used to the length of this chapter, I wanted to do a fairly descriptive account of Saeuruk's past, but the more I wrote the more I wanted to share, so I apologize for the length now. Obligatory stuff now. I don't own WoW, I have no official affiliation with Blizzard, the characters mentioned in story are either mine, used with permission, or are NPC's.

Saeuruk spoke with Black Wolf-eye about each of their travels, and how they had been captured. Black Wolf-eye had been furthering his shamanistic training, a young Tauren, and in stark contrast to his name his fur was a deep brown instead of black from what Saeuruk could see, he was gathering the required materials to learn to summon the cleansing powers of water. "I was sent here to gather water from an island in the middle of Lake Mystal by an orc simply known as Brine, she is deeply in tune with the elemental waters. I traveled for many days and fought many beasts trying to find her, she sent me to gather essences of water to create a sapta for me. As I was preparing to fight the corrupted elementals my way across the lake a patrol of Sentinels happened upon me and brought me here, for the sun was about to rise and the orcs are the masters of Ashenvale by day. " Sae listened for a long time, and then related the details of his capture, culminating with his entrance into the way station.

The two conversed and examined their dark little cell, it was built out of stone so they couldn't just use the shaman's fire to burn their way out and escape. Their conversations drifted to their pasts, Black was freely sharing about his past, apparently he was the youngest bull in his tribe. One of his tribemates, Blue Wolf-eye, was an accomplished warrior that had been present in all of the Horde campaigns in the fabled Outland, and had fought through the endless legions of undead scourge in Northrend. One of his communal sisters, Red Wolf-eye, was training with him, but they split up for a time, he to pursue his shamanistic training more closely, and she to purse learning more of the art of the Hunter. Black's parents were powerful shaman, his father was talented in the elements, while his mother was skilled in enhancement magics, while his calling was of a more restorative nature. As he continued Saeuruk learned that he was in almost every way a polar opposite to himself. Black seemed to abhor the violence inherent in the warrior's trade, while Saeuruk accepted it as a necessary action. Saeuruk believed that the only way to make sure that your enemies never bothered you again was to leave their bodies on the ground, while Black blissfully hoped that you could reason with anyone. Despite these glaring differences, Saeuruk found himself liking the young shaman. It was soon his turn to tell his story.

Saeuruk had been born in the years following the events on Mount Hyjal, where the combined forces of Humans, Night Elves, and the New Horde had defeated Archemond and the Burning Legion. His mother, Halfa, was a druid of some power, but she had become disillusioned with the life she had lead as a druid, settling with the life of a simple Kodo farmer in the Barrens. His father, Turok, had been a hunter, and had stumbled across his mother's farm after being severely wounded after being attacked by a band of centaur. She patched his wounds and helped him to recover his strength and health, but they had fallen madly in love in the short amount of time they had spent together, and he elected to make her his mate. They spent several years living alone in the Barrens, selling their kodo to the orcs for pack beasts, and passing tauren for mounts. His older sister, Serga, had been born, and thing son the farm had changed somewhat, now that there was an extra mouth to feed, but Serga grew fast and was soon as independent as a child could be. Five years later Saeuruk had been born, and almost died at a young age when he wandered off and was found by a pack of hyenas. His sister, foreshadowing her role for the rest of her life, found him and slew three of the hyenas before driving off the rest. When they had returned their parents literally tied Saeuruk to his older sister and charged her in making sure he didn't get lost while the adults were working with the kodo.

Saeuruk told Black of several adventures he and his sister had undertaken, he quite willingly, his sister usually chasing after him. How they chased the Gazelle as far as they could and then got lost for three days as they tried to find their way back home. His mother had been furious with him, but she was more glad to have them both home after three days. He loved his family, especially his sister, she was always there for him when he needed her. When he had broken his leg, she had carried him home to have their mother fix it. She had been the one that had comforted him when his pet prairie dog had died. He would have done anything for her. As he shared more and more he grew closer to the day that had forever scarred him, and that changed him more than any other single event.

"It was early in the morning, they had been up for hours, moving their herd of Kodo around. We were used to seeing the occasional Alliance scouting party pass by on its way to the Crossroads, so we didn't pay any attention to the noises of shrieking metal from gnomish Mechanostriders and thundering hooves of Human horses and Dwarven rams. As the first farm on the road from Ratchet to the Crossroads we were in the forefront of any attack coming from Ratchet. I was leading the new calves away from their mothers so they could be washed, when I suddenly noticed the sounds of the alliance riders grew quite, I looked to see them arranging themselves into groups. I asked father what they were doing, and when he look, he recognized it for what it was and got a fearful look on his face, this wasn't a scouting party, this was an assault force. He grabbed us children and lead us inside, grabbing his old gun from atop the door and ran outside with his prairie wolf companion, Lo'gash, close in toe. I... I... watched as father ran back to stand by mother, her hands glowing a strange green color, the first time I knew of her using her druidic power since I had been born." The course of the next few minutes were painful to remember, to say the least, he had to stop and shake away the tears several times, he eventually continued. "They... they fired first. Human and Dwarven warriors and paladins leading the charge as their spell casters prepared to cast their spells. My mother and father took out many of the warriors and paladins before they were overwhelmed by the spell casters. It wasn't until just before my sister knocked me over and shielded me with her own body that I noticed a group of several warlocks, demons in toe, preparing to cast a volley of spells, not at our parents, but at us and our home. Their fire and shadow spells rained on us and our home like a dark rain. My sister... she was... she was killed almost instantly, and for that I am thankful, she didn't suffer. I don't think I could bear the pain if she had..." By now Saeuruk wasn't even concerned about the tears falling from his eyes, it was too dark for Black to see them anyhow. Saeuruk stopped talking, he was too busy replaying the scene of his sister dieing over and over in his head, and thinking of all the things he should have done to save her.

When Sae was quiet for a long time Black closed his eyes and said quietly, "I don not know why the Earth mother tests you so, but you will be stronger for it." Saeuruk was still quiet, he didn't have anything to say, her hand was not in the alliances actions. They were not her followers, but he was right, it made him stronger than he would have been otherwise. It was then that the cell door opened again, a heavily armed band of Sentenials stood, Saeuruk's captor amoung them, in the door way. They grabbed the two tauren and tied their hands again, blind folding them as well, before shoving them back out of the Waystation.


End file.
